Newsletter

Texas and region

Rick Perry is mulling returning at least $80,000 in past contributions from a donor convicted of public corruption.

Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier says his presidential campaign “is looking into the situation and will take appropriate action.”

Robert “Bob” Jones is former president of the National Center for Employment of the Disabled in El Paso.

The El Paso Times reported Sunday that Jones made contributions between 2002 and 2005 to Perry’s campaigns for Texas governor.

DALLAS

An undercover police operation erupted in gunfire aboard an Amtrak train idling at Union Station in downtown Dallas on Monday, leaving a suspect dead and an undercover narcotics officer and a bystander wounded.

The incident happened about 4 p.m. as Amtrak’s Texas Eagle from San Antonio to Chicago was nearing departure.

Three plainclothes officers were performing an inspection when they found a suspicious man aboard the train, said police Lt. Scott Walton. The officers confronted the suspect, who drew a handgun and opened fire, Walton said. An officer returned fire, killing the man.

BAY CITY

Police say a Texas woman shot by her husband has been upgraded to serious condition and she’s aware that he killed their four children.

Bay City police on Monday said Laura Gonzalez, who was wounded by Jose Avila-Alva before he shot their youngsters and killed himself, remains hospitalized.

Lt. Andrew Lewis says the revolver used by Avila-Alva last Wednesday was reported stolen in 2010 to Port Arthur police.

Police say Avila-Alva was in the U.S. illegally, after being deported to Mexico in 2006.

DALLAS

A Dallas-area woman has lost her hand after walking into the propeller of a small airplane following a flight to view Christmas lights.

A spokeswoman at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas says 23-year-old Lauren Scruggs of Plano was in serious condition Monday. She’s founder and editor of LoLo Magazine.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the accident happened Saturday night at a private airport in the McKinney area, about 30 miles northeast of Dallas.

DENTON

The University of North Texas says a man found dead at the Occupy Denton protest site on campus was not a student.

Organizers say a candlelight vigil was to be held Monday night to remember 23-year-old Darwin Cox, who was discovered dead Saturday afternoon.

A lawyer for the company, in a letter last month to the commission, said the layoffs are expected after J.C. Evans on Aug. 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The layoffs will affect workers throughout the company.

EL PASO

Police say a lit blowtorch has been used in an attempt to rob a West Texas convenience store.

El Paso police say the uninjured clerk fled early Monday and managed to flag down an officer, who was on patrol, and report a man with a flaming blowtorch had demanded cash.

Police arrested 42-year-old Osbaldo Estrada after a foot chase. The blowtorch has been recovered.

CORPUS CHRISTI

A South Texas bridge has a new $2.2 million look.

Organizers say several thousand people were on hand Sunday night to see the colorful display of light patterns on the Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi. The 950-LED light system wraps around the span, which is located near the Texas State Aquarium.